Charles D. Ahlem is the owner/operator of Charles Ahlem Ranch in Turlock with 4,000 Jersey milking cows and farming 1,100 acres. In addition, he is a founding partner of Hilmar Cheese Company, which annually produces more cheese from its Hilmar, California site than any other facility in the world. He serves as member on the USDA Trade Policy Committee (APAC), the California Milk Advisory Board and the UC Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. Ahlem has served as Undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in the Schwarzenegger administration.

Other positions of leadership have included serving as dairy industry representative on the State Board of Food and Agriculture and memberships on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and the UC President’s Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. A lifetime resident of the Central Valley, Charles graduated with a degree in dairy science from California State University, Fresno.